No. of Recommendations: 19
My random thoughts on drinking trends.
*Boomers are getting older and drinking less or not at all due to age. Wine / beers / spirits.
*I'm a Millenial and am drinking far less, my body can't take it anymore and I feel better the less I drink. Noticeable amongst peer group also.
*Gen Z the trend is more extreme, and they're not in pubs / clubs like i was at that age, they're in the gym. I go too and mix with them. Instead they're gaming at home or watching netflix / youtube.
*Alcohol is going the way of tobacco, Youtube is full of podcasts linking alcohol to cancer etc.Though what you say is certainly the observed trend, enough to be received wisdom, it may not be a trend without end. Perhaps there is nuance worth considering.
Consider
An article in the FT from July 2
https://www.ft.com/content/1ae55e45-64a6-463a-b04b...
Gen Z acquires taste for drinking as cost of living pressures ease
Survey shows drop in abstinence among young adults as drinks industry battles perception of structural decline
"An IWSR survey of more than 26,000 people across the 15 largest alcoholic drinks markets found 73 per cent of Gen Z respondents — people of legal drinking age to 27 — had consumed alcohol in the previous six months, compared with 66 per cent two years ago. That was the biggest increase of any generation, according to IWSR, a market researcher for the global beverage industry. Meanwhile, 72 per cent of baby boomers — people aged 60 and over — said they had drunk alcohol over the same time period, compared with 73 per cent two years ago, said IWSR, which also found overall alcohol consumption was still moderating across generations.
...
The share of Gen X (those aged between 44 and 59) that said they had drunk alcohol in the last half year rose from 77 per cent in 2023 to 79 per cent this year. The figures for millennials (28 to 43) rose from 79 per cent to 83 per cent. Six per cent of boomers said they were actively drinking more, compared with 29 per cent of Gen Z respondents."Some fraction of the fall off in drinking is because it costs money. One possible view is that drinking rises with age for a while as the average person gets a bit wealthier, and only later falls off as the body handles it worse. The peak may be lower than in the past, but that doesn't mean that alcohol spending among those who are relatively abstemious at age 20 will be equally low at age 30.
Humans have been enjoying a drink probably since before there was language, so I doubt it will fade away completely and forever.
Jim
